


Who Told You it was too Late?

by codenamecalico



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Confessions, Fluff, Happy Ending, Longing, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Natasha Romanov is a good wing man, One Shot, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), apologizing, feat. the cell phone, you could probably guess the whole plot from this but I swear its still worth the read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23072506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenamecalico/pseuds/codenamecalico
Summary: National fugitive or not, Steve Rogers was home again, even if it was only for a night, and Tony has a few things he needs to tell him.*Its everything that these two needed to say to each other in the MCU all packaged nicely in a little one-shot I wrote one day
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2
Collections: Stony Fics





	Who Told You it was too Late?

It was late but screw it all, Tony was going to enjoy this, maybe it was temporary but he didn't care. At the moment all he cared about was the fact that Steve was back. He was home. It had to be a secret, of course, being that he was still technically a fugitive but what the secretary didn't know couldn't hurt him. 

It had been late that night too, when Steve called. It was crazy, Tony had spent almost an hour staring at that stupid phone, thinking of Steve, wondering where he was, trying to tell himself not to care, and then out of nowhere, as if his meditation itself had caused it, the phone rang. All that time trying to work up the nerve and in the end Steve called him.  
Steve called him.

In the shock of the moment, he almost missed the call entirely, picking up at the very last second. 

Tony couldn't quite remember all that had been exchanged in the short phone call but he did remember the relief that washed over him after hearing Cap’s voice again. That same deep tone that he always used, serious, but never harsh. Well, almost never…

“I miss you”

That's what he said.

He could have meant the whole team, Tony knew that, but somehow he also knew that he didn't. Though, Tony had little time to analyze the meaning at the time because it was immediately followed by Steve asking if he could come back, just for a visit.

He went off into reasons and justifications but Tony didn't need to hear any of them. It would be a lie to say that he had forgiven Cap, it's possible that what he had done would hang over them for the rest of their lives but the frustration had eased with space and all Tony wanted now was to see Cap back where he belonged. 

It was all of this that pulsed around in Tony’s head as he sat at the dinner table watching everyone huddle around the prodigal son, back and just as loved as ever. For the time being he was trying to hang back, let the others have their fun, after all, Steve had come back to see all of them, but he hoped to find a time to pull Steve aside later in the night. They needed to talk. But for that moment, Tony was just content to let the others talk and make merry while he watched Steve’s smile brighten with every word spoken. 

It was a beautiful picture, one he hadn't seen in too long.

*  
The night turned out to be very long, with most of the team staying up just talking but around four am people started to break off. At one point, Tony had to make a point of escorting Clint, who had been snuck out of his house for the night, to one of the guest rooms after one too many drinks. 

By the time that Tony had gotten Clint to go into the room and stay there most of the others had gone, everyone but Steve and Natasha who were both still at the bar talking about something that Tony couldn't make out. Whatever it was seemed to have both of them rather downcast. He hovered for a moment out of sight in the doorway to avoid breaking up the moment, unintentionally (a little intentionally) getting close enough to eavesdrop. 

“Oh please, you think I didn't know?”The comment was sympathetic in that way that could only come from Natasha. She had a way of knowing exactly what seemed to be going on in everyone's heads better than they did themselves and when it came to it, if it was important enough, she didn't hesitate to let them know. It was comforting in a way, being understood. It was something Tony had been on the other side of a lot more since the team had split and it was how he knew that he had made a good choice not interrupting the conversation. 

“Yeah, well maybe everyone knew” Steve laughed half-heartedly. “It doesn't change a thing now.”

“Maybe it's not over.” 

There was the sound of another drink being poured. 

“Nat I appreciate the optimism but-”

“Rogers, he let you come back didn't he?” He. “Why does everything have to be so complicated with you two? Just go talk to him!”

“Because it's too late Nat, even if we could somehow get over the split… and what happened, it's never going to be like it was. It’s just like a big black mark hanging over us that we’ll never outrun.”

The realization that Steve was talking about him, about them, hit Tony hard in the chest. He shouldn't have been listening but it was too late now. His heart was breaking listening to Steve talk about them without any hope because Tony had all the same fears. Normally he could count on Steve’s unrelenting optimism, it was one of the most annoying things that made Tony love him, but if not even Steve thought that they had a chance, what was the point? 

“Well you love him don't you?”

Tony’s train of thought came to a screeching halt.

“Of course I do.” Steve answered wistfully. 

The words should have made Tony happy, and they did, a bit, but it was how they were said that broke him further. They seemed to drift into the air and hang there like clouds covering the sun. The rain never falling from them but darkening the world beneath them all the same. It wasn't something you expected from words that usually brought such joy to a normal relationship but here, in this context, they only came across laced with regret and longing. 

“Then maybe this one is worth some more thought Rogers, or better yet, less thought. Sometimes a good gut feeling can mean more than all the reasoning in the world.” he gave her a small laugh. “Listen I’m heading up, I’ll see you in the morning” 

It was at this moment that Tony should have moved or found some way to disguise the fact that he had just overheard the entire conversation but the fake smile he quickly plastered on his face wasn't enough to fool Natasha as she passed him in the hallway. 

“I was jus-” He tried to say before Nat rolled her eyes and cut him off with a wave of her hand. 

“No you weren't,” she said, making sure that she was safely out of Steves line of sight. She looked Tony up and down and straightened his tie slightly. “There, now you look the part. You’re up Iron Man, and for both of your sakes, do this right this time. ” 

She patted him on the chest and was gone before Tony could ask how long she had known he was there but he assumed that it was long enough. It didn't matter, Tony had something more important to do anyway. 

He took the corner into the room quickly, not waiting for the chance to chicken out, and caught Steve off guard. Steve had hardly looked up from his seat to register that Tony had come in when Tony started talking. All at once, his inner thoughts raced out of him in the form of a speech that he never realized he had rehearsed until he found himself reciting it. 

“Steve, I’m sorry about the accords.” The words flowed out of him like a river of truth. “I'm sorry that I tried to force them on you and that I let such an insignificant little problem turn into such a huge disaster. I guess its just one of the things that I’m best at.”

“Tony-” Steve tried to break in but Tony wouldn't let him. 

“No, no let me finish, there...there's a lot. I just have to get through it so um.. Please leave all questions until the end.” The joke attempt fell flat but Steve did close his mouth and settle in, listening intently. “All I wanted was to keep us all together and I thought that the accords were the only way to do that but, obviously, I was wrong. I don't think that the accords were a terrible thing, I still think that it was right to sign them but that doesn't mean that I don't regret it every day when I walk around this home that I made for all of us and half of us aren't here anymore, you’re not here anymore and… I still think that morally we were right but it wasn't worth it. I need you to know that Steve.” Tony looked him in the eye so there was no question of his honesty. “It wasn't worth it.” 

That was it, the whole speech, everything he had been wanting to say to Steve for a year, finally out in the open, but then it didn't stop. Suddenly like a dam breaking everything he had ever wanted to tell Steve came flooding out. “And I love you, Steve. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight but it as been so long now that I barely remember a time before I loved you. I love the way that you can command a room with just your voice and how you don't care how others see you. I love your idiotic sense of justice and I love how no matter how bad things get you still see the bright side and I love the way you always see the best in people, even me. You drive me up the wall but I can't stand being without you.” 

It was all he could think to say and it was everything he had ever wanted to say. Just having gotten it out of his brain made him feel lighter and yet somehow emptier. It wouldn't really make a difference and they were probably doomed anywa-

There was a loud bang as Steve knocked over the stool he had been sitting on in a rush to get to his feet. The clatter of the metal against the floor echoed up into the rafters causing both of them to flinch but when Tony focused back on Steve, he saw something he hadn't before. Steve, Captain America himself, looked anxious. Then, even more remarkably, he started confessing too. His words didn't rush out of him the way they had with Tony, they felt more controlled, carefully chosen, intentional, but it didn't make them any less real. 

“It’s not your fault Tony.” Even if Tony didn't believe it, it felt good coming from Steve. “I didn't ever want it to get this far. I let my past get in the way and let politics tear us apart, that wasn't just you Tony. I made a lot of mistakes and it's not fair for you to carry all that blame around with you. Also, about your parents, I thought that by hiding things from you I was saving you from something, but I was wrong. I wish I had told you, Tony, I really do. I wish...I had told you that I loved you too.” This time when Steve said it it hit Tony deeper. It was one thing to hear him tell it to someone else but something completely different to look into those blue eyes, eyes full of more real fear then Tony had ever seen in them on the battlefield, and feel the heartbreak in his voice as he said it. 

“Listen, Tony, we may not always agree but even when we fought I loved you.” Tony saw a hint of a tear welling up in Steves's eye. “I just wish I had told you before it was too late.”

“Who told you it was too late?” Tony said desperately. 

One step at a time he closed the space between him and Steve having to look up slightly when he reached him to make eye contact. It was odd, Tony wasn't used to being the hopeful one, but something about seeing Cap this way just brought it out of him. It made him want to lift him up and bring that hope back into his heart. 

“I don't know Tony…”

“Hey, maybe we are doomed to fail Steve,” Tony said “but wouldn't you rather go down in a blaze of glory? Personally I think that we have wasted enough time second-guessing ourselves. I know that I love you and it's one of the few things I will always know.” 

It was then that finally, Steve leaned in and kissed him. 

Natasha smiled down from the balcony where she had been spying on them, it was about damn time.

**Author's Note:**

> I put off posting this for a really long time because I was going to write an epilogue but I decided that it was fine by itself so I finally just posted it. Let me know if you liked it and whether or not you want an epilogue (probably not a long one but I can whip something up).  
> Also thank you for getting this far!
> 
> Also if you liked that one I have written a few other stony fics that you might be interested in. (The others are better than this one honestly) Check them out if you want but if not that's okay too!  
> Thank you so much for reading!!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Superhusbandsmidnight675  
> ^ This is a link to my stony collection, enjoy.


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